Casemiro scored twice as Manchester United defeated 10-man Championship side Reading 3-1 at Old Trafford to reach the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday night.
United hit the ground running almost immediately and dictated play, launching several threats in the Reading half but lacked the cutting edge to make them count until the 36th minute when Marcus Rashford headed the ball into the net.
Unfortunately, the goal was ruled out for an offside by VAR. Wout Weghorst was offside in the build up to the goal. The one-sided encounter ended goalless in Manchester.
Ten minutes into the second half, Casemiro finally broke the deadlock to put the Red Devils ahead. Antony laid a through pass to Casemiro, who caught the ball inside the 18-yard and chipped it over the goalkeeper’s head.
In the 58th minute, Casemiro found the back of the net again through a curler from yards out from the box area, as the Brazilian scored his brace of the night to double the Red Devils’ advantage.
Barely seven minutes later, Reading woes were compounded when their striker was sent off after receiving a second yellow card of the night following a bad tackle on Casemiro.
Substitute Fred became the second Brazilian on the scoresheet for the night in the 66th minute when back-heeled Bruno Fernandes’ corner kick assist into the net to score United’s third goal.
In the final quarter of the encounter, Amadou Salif Mbengue grabbed a consolation for the Championship club, managed by United legend and two-time FA Cup winner, Paul Ince, with whom his son played the entire 90 minutes for Reading in tonight’s game.
United will have to wait until the end of fourth round fixtures, after which another draw would be conducted to determine the Red Devils’ opponent for the next round of the oldest football competition in the world.
